I bought a ’65 Thunderbird last summer; it has 48,000 on the odometer. The car is solid (no rattles going over railroad tracks), everything works, the paint looks original, and I haven’t noticed any signs of body repair; it is a survivor. The car was in the shop several times for about half the summer. Just about everything with a gasket has been serviced; I was fortunate to find a mechanic who still knows what a carburetor is. The car was running well at the end of the summer
My goal is to preserve the car for the next owner while I enjoy it for a few years. I think the best thing I can do for the car is to run it and maintain it.
I plan on doing some work on it myself this summer. I bought a set of service manuals to assist my mechanic and help me determine how things are put together for things I can do. I’m looking for tips.
One of the rear electric windows stopped working (it was working). The schematic looks straight forward but I’m not sure how to remove 50 year old panels without causing damage.
I’ll be replacing the drivers mirror with a correct one that has the remote cable. And I’ll add a mirror to the right side.
The interior door panels are the only parts that show wear. The door panel covering around door pulls is split on both doors, you can see the foam behind the covering. I’m not sure what to do about that short of an expensive replacement.
The car does have a couple mysteries. The drivers side sits 3/4” lower than the passenger side. I suspect the springs might be fatigued but I don’t know. And the right front tire scraps the inner fender well when I backup and turn to the left, all other steering is OK; I wonder what tire size is normal I think the original tire size was an odd one).
My goal is to preserve the car for the next owner while I enjoy it for a few years. I think the best thing I can do for the car is to run it and maintain it.
I plan on doing some work on it myself this summer. I bought a set of service manuals to assist my mechanic and help me determine how things are put together for things I can do. I’m looking for tips.
One of the rear electric windows stopped working (it was working). The schematic looks straight forward but I’m not sure how to remove 50 year old panels without causing damage.
I’ll be replacing the drivers mirror with a correct one that has the remote cable. And I’ll add a mirror to the right side.
The interior door panels are the only parts that show wear. The door panel covering around door pulls is split on both doors, you can see the foam behind the covering. I’m not sure what to do about that short of an expensive replacement.
The car does have a couple mysteries. The drivers side sits 3/4” lower than the passenger side. I suspect the springs might be fatigued but I don’t know. And the right front tire scraps the inner fender well when I backup and turn to the left, all other steering is OK; I wonder what tire size is normal I think the original tire size was an odd one).
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